


how light the sleeping, how deep the waking

by Jackdaw816



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Episode: s02e06 Reset, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22025956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackdaw816/pseuds/Jackdaw816
Summary: The aftermath of runaway alien tech and a sleepless weekend
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	how light the sleeping, how deep the waking

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so this is the first scene of a longer fic I'm writing, the calm before the (Hart & son) storm, so to speak. But this is entirely standalone from the rest, so enjoy!
> 
> The title is from a Dylan Thomas poem called "I Fellowed Sleep"

It was a late night, even by Torchwood standards. A Rift alert late on Friday had released an ultra-fast and extremely alien machine on the streets of Cardiff. It had taken the entire team two full days to catch it, but Jack had insisted that they couldn’t stop until it was secured. It could have meant the destruction of the city if they let it slip away. 

Upon the discovery that it was the alien equivalent of a wind-up toy and was effectively harmless, Jack had been yelled at by a very sleep-deprived Gwen and cursed out by an equally sleep-deprived Owen. The glare that Tosh had given him wasn’t much better. Ianto hadn’t said a thing, simply deposited the little fucker (as Owen had dubbed it) in the boot of the SUV and stifled a yawn and a wince.

Gwen and Owen didn’t make the trip back to the Hub with the rest of the team. They were only a block away from Gwen’s flat, and Owen had hailed a taxi, stating that he would strangle that bastard Harkness if he had to spend any longer with him. Jack was wise and let him go, telling him and Gwen to take Monday off, baring any world-ending catastrophes.

The SUV was quiet as Jack drove back to the Hub at a speed that, while still illegal, was somehow much slower than his normal driving. Tosh was dozing off in the backseat, and Ianto stared blankly out the window. 

Ianto had gone this long without sleep before, and it was always the same. Adrenaline and caffeine carried him until the crisis was over. Then his brain effectively shut off until he got at least six hours. Or two in a pinch. 

He felt a hand on his leg and looked over toward its owner. Jack’s eyes were steady on the road, but Ianto knew he was just as tired as the rest of them. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Tosh, asleep, her chin resting against her chest in a way that Ianto knew from experience would put a decent crick in her neck.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked softly as so not to disturb Tosh. Ianto nodded before he remembered that Jack wasn’t looking at him.

“I’ll be glad to see a bed, but I’m fine,” Ianto responded, matching Jack’s volume. Jack gave him a worried glance anyway. The SUV shook as Jack accelerated past someone obeying the speed limit.

“What about your shoulder?” he asked, obviously not reassured by Ianto’s words. Ianto shifted the shoulder in question and barely managed to keep his face steady at the bolt of pain that shot through it. The little fucker had smashed into him when they had finally cornered it. But it had slowed it down enough for Jack to hit it with a localized EMP and stop it completely, so Ianto considered it a success.

“It’s alright,” Ianto lied. Without looking, Jack reached out and gently poked Ianto’s arm. Ianto let out a low hiss as pain raced through his bruising shoulder.

“That doesn’t sound alright, Ianto,” Jack pointed out accurately. Ianto rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to say something snarky. With his sleep-deprived brain, it would be more pathetic than scathing anyway. “I can bring Owen in, get him to check you out.” Ianto shook his head.

“Owen might actually kill you, again, if you bring him just to look at me,” Ianto said. “It’s honestly not that bad, I’ll just raid the med bay for some painkillers and sleep it off.” Jack muttered something under his breath, but he didn’t protest. He reached for Ianto’s hand and Ianto let him take it, ignoring the twinge of pain.

“Fine,” Jack conceded, his thumb rubbing circles into the back of Ianto’s hand. “But if it doesn’t feel better in the morning, I’m bringing Owen in.” Ianto glanced at his watch.

“It’s already the morning, but point made,” Ianto said. Jack snuck a look at Ianto’s watch and whistled lowly.

“Guess I lost track after the first night I missed,” Jack mused aloud. He had forced everyone else to get a few hours rest in the middle of Saturday, but he had kept on working, able to work through lack of sleep thanks to his immortality and a frankly unsafe amount of caffeine.

They rode in comfortable silence for the rest of the short journey to the Hub. Once they’d parked, Ianto gently shook Tosh awake. Jack grabbed the little fucker and the trio blearily stumbled into the Hub proper. Jack thumped the hunk of alien metal on Tosh’s desk and Myfanwy screeched out from above.

“Toshiko, I need you to scan this and make sure it’s shut down properly,” Jack called out, tiredness overtaken by leadership. Tosh nodded and slipped on her glasses. Jack was walking away from them quickly, still calling out orders as he went.

“Ianto, Owen keeps the painkillers in the third drawer on the left, and then I want you to check the Rift monitor and make sure nothing else has come through while we were busy.” 

“Right,” Ianto called back, although of course he already knew where the painkillers were. He made his way down and found the drawer, narrowly avoiding cutting himself on a scalpel that Owen had left askew. Ianto swore under his breath. Owen was such a slob. Why he became a doctor, Ianto would never know.

He found the scalpel’s cover and replaced it before pulling out a bottle labeled in Owen’s very doctoral scrawl. He shook out two pills and swallowed them dry. The pain in his shoulder had faded to a dull throb that he knew would be almost completely erased by the meds.

Jack had disappeared, doing what, Ianto could only guess. Tosh was hard at work, examining the little fucker. Ianto carefully made his way past her, going to use Owen’s monitor to check the Rift. 

He booted up the computer and was pleased to note that the Rift had been almost entirely dormant over the weekend. A little spike late on Saturday, but an attached note from Jack stated that it had been dealt with. One small bit of luck for Ianto this weekend, then.

“Ianto?” Tosh called. He looked up and over. Tosh gestured for him to come over. He quickly shut down the monitor and joined Tosh at her station. 

“Yes?” he asked, eyeing the tech nervously. Tosh smiled up at him.

“Could you take this down to the archives for me? And let Jack know that it is completely deactivated and harmless.” She shifted nervously on her feet. “I normally wouldn’t leave without asking him, but I don’t know where he is and it’s gone half-past two.” Ianto smiled reassuringly.

“Of course. You go on home.” Ianto said, knowing that Jack would agree with him. Tosh beamed at him and grabbed her purse.

“Good night, Ianto. Make sure you get some sleep. Don’t let Jack keep you awake.” Tosh joked although she blushed as she said it. Ianto gave her a scolding look but winked.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Night, Tosh.” As the cog door’s alarm blared, Jack reappeared, in fresh clothes, his hair damp. Of course, he’d snuck down to the showers. Ianto was sure that they all reeked, but he was more interested in sleep than a shower.

“Tosh leave?” Jack asked, jogging over to where Ianto stood with the little fucker. 

“Yup. She said to tell you that the” little fucker “device is deactivated and harmless.” Jack gave it a once-over and nodded. “I was just about to take it down to the archives.” Jack’s head snapped up. 

“No, no. I’ll take it down. You’ll go to bed.” Ianto was about to protest, but Jack raised a hand. “You shouldn’t be carrying anything, not with your shoulder.” Ianto made an exasperated noise. But Jack was right.

“Fine. I’ll go home then.” Now it was Jack’s turn to make an exasperated noise. “What now?” Ianto asked, tired and his patience unusually thin.

“You don’t need to drive home, and for everyone’s safety, you really shouldn’t. Lack of sleep kills.” Ianto resisted the urge to point out that Jack had driven them to the Hub on less sleep than him.

“Fine,” Ianto said, too tired to keep arguing. Jack stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Ianto’s waist. 

“I am sorry that this has been the weekend from hell,” Jack said softly. Ianto scoffed.

“Honestly, that might be an over-exaggeration. We are Torchwood after all.” He’d definitely had worse weekends. Granted, he usually got more sleep. Jack reached up to cup Ianto’s face.

“Even Torchwood deserves to sleep.” Jack smiled but not his usual cocky grin. This smile was softer, one that Ianto was the only person to see, at least of the team. He was a little smug about that, but only in his head. Pride before the fall and all that.

“Give me two minutes to take this downstairs, and no, I won’t mess with your system, you can file it properly when your shoulder is better. And then I’ll take you to bed and we can sleep ‘til an obscenely late hour. Game?” Ianto smiled softly.

“I’m game.” Jack grinned cockily and stepped back with a bounce in his step. He snatched the little fucker off the table and took off at a dash.

“Two minutes!” Jack called, his voice ringing in the cavernous Hub. Ianto yawned, the confirmation that sleep was less than ten minutes away sending a sudden rush of exhaustion through him. He crossed to the couch and sat down, letting himself sink into the cushions. He yawned again, and pressing his feet against the floor, maneuvered himself into a more comfortable position.

When Jack came out of the archives two and a half minutes later, he found Ianto, fast asleep on the couch. He was too tall to fit comfortably and his legs dangled off the end. His suit was rumpled, but his face was so calm in sleep, he actually looked his age. 

Jack debated carrying him to bed, but he knew he couldn’t get him down the ladder into his room. So instead, he shrugged off his coat and spread it over Ianto’s sleeping form. He knelt beside him and kissed him on the forehead.

“Sleep well, Ianto Jones,” Jack breathed softly. Then he stood and went into his office. Two-thirty or not, there was always work to be done. The Rift never slept, and if need be, neither did Jack. Ten minutes later, he was passed out and snoring over his desk, papers scattered across the floor.


End file.
